An Afternoon at the Orange Hall with David P. Smith and the Euphorians

By Nick Lyons

Every morning on my way to work, I walk past a little place called the Orange Hall. The hall, on Fernwood Road close to Vic High, would be easy to miss as it is about the size of an average living room. An old stone retaining wall frames the small plot of land on which the hall rests—a humble, symbolic defense against the greedy intentions of would be-developers. I’ve always wanted to see the hall from the inside and on Sunday afternoon (October 24), I got my chance as David P. Smith played a rare matinee show there, with Himalayan Bear supporting.

The always-engaging David P. Smith

I arrived early to check out the little place before the bands started to play and was greeted at the door by Smith’s wife and daughter who welcomed me to the show. Smith himself was meekly setting up the chairs for his audience, who started to filter in during the sound check. The hall lived up to every expectation: hardwood floors, obviously recently polished, gleamed in the dying light of a blustery October afternoon and groaned, somehow unobtrusively, under the sneakers of the packed hall’s patrons. After a brief sound check, Himalayan Bear took the stage.

Ryan Beattie (Himalayan Bear) is a cornerstone in Victoria’s music scene. He plays guitar for Frog Eyes, whose most recent album, Paul’s Tomb: A Triumph, stands as one of the year’s best albums and was long listed for the Polaris Prize. Beattie is also the lead singer for Chet, whose masterful Chelsea Silver, Please Come Home, has tragically not seen a fraction of the acclaim or radio play it deserves. A haunting and evocative testament to beauty and sadness, the album serves as the perfect soundtrack to a long, dark Victoria winter. Impossibly, Beattie still finds the time for his Himalayan Bear project, which is largely a solitary affair though, on occasion, he welcomes other musicians to the stage.

On this afternoon, the Himalayan Bear was alone, with only a sparkly black Gretsch guitar to keep him company. Beattie’s loneliness was befitting of the songs he sang—poetic accounts of people living and dying alone, with nothing but a bottle to bring solace to their solitude. Beattie’s is an incredibly literate music which owes as much to John Keats or Malcolm Lowery as it does to similarly tortured musicians such as Abner Jay. While the set was great, my thoughts kept going back to a show Himalayan Bear played earlier this year as opener for Julie Doiron, for which he brought a drummer on stage to join him. Drums added so much to Himalayan Bear’s sound, giving Beattie’s wistful vocal flights a much needed solid, rhythmic base. I look forward to seeing Beattie play with a drummer again someday soon.

After much applause and a quick smoke break, David P. Smith stepped onto the stage with his most recent band, the Euphorians. Like Smith, the band was all dressed in black save for the guitarist who obviously missed the memo. Featuring two violins, a bass guitar, trumpet, electric guitar and, sometimes, a baritone, the Euphorians provided a perfect accompaniment to Smith’s songs. The band’s drummer, unable to make the show, was replaced for the afternoon by a drum machine from the 19th century. A tangle of live wire and old wood with a metallic arm that slowly spun clockwise, the machine had tremendous stage presence, threatening to destroy us all while setting the tempo for Smith’s songs.

Smith’s music is as quirky and delightful as his makeshift drum machine. An accomplished visual artist, it should not come as a surprise that Smith’s songs are a veritable sketchbook of absurdist drawings. We see men blowing blood through a black rubber hose, fat kids with big tits eating ribs, and the freedom lovin’ folk dancing in the smoke of burning meat; all of these images packed into one song (Jackhammer Man, which he and his band played with tremendous gusto). While Smith’s music has been described as dark, it is equally hilarious—a kind of dada-esque misanthropy.

It was refreshing to see Smith and company performing an all ages show. Victoria suffers for not having much in the way of all-ages venues; children bring joy to the saddest of songs. One of the afternoon’s highlights was watching a two or three year old dancing giddily in the center aisle as Smith nonchalantly sang about cutting his head off and baking it in a pie before sending it to the moon in a rocket ship: it was an absolutely perfect contrast of innocence and insanity, as is much of Smith’s music.

All in all, an excellent afternoon. I cannot think of a better context in which to experience the little hall I pass by every day. Let’s hope that the hall will continue to be brought to life by musicians as talented and entertaining as David P. Smith for years to come.

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It’s Halloween again, but never fear, Monday will keep you in the know.

It'll be gruesome!

Win tickets to Club 9one9’s Zombie Trilogy Night by emailing your favorite zombie facts to calendar@mondaymag.com (SUBJECT:ZOMBIE TRILOGY). You’ll get to enjoy Night of the Living Dead THURSDAY with Team Canada DJs, Dawn of the Dead FRIDAY and Day of the Dead SUNDAY with DJs Kris Reign and Marshall A. $500 in costume prizes each night. Zombie stage, Go Go dancers and a free zombie make-up table!

Don’t forget that there’s more spooks to be had.

Festival Of Fear – Lots of spooky activities for Halloween, including the Festival of Fear, the Cornfield of Horror, the Crazy Train, Madame Isabella’s Seance and Carnevil, in addition to the Corn Maze, Pumpkinfest and Petting Farm. THURSDAY-SUNDAY. $10/$7. 250-477-5713, galeyfarms.net.

ZombieFeast Horror Film Fest – Prepare to be scared at this second annual event featuring classic horror films, art show, door prizes and a zombie and horror short film competition. FRIDAY noon-9pm, SATURDAY noon-midnight, and SUNDAY 1-9pm at the Absolute Underground Store (1215 Government) $5. zombiefeast.ca.

The Ghosts of Victoria Festival – Spooky ghost tours at St. Ann’s. FRIDAY and SATURDAY 6:30 and 8:30pm at St. Ann’s Academy (835 Humboldt). $12/$10. 250-953-8829.

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Even though Halloween is more than a week away, there’s still plenty to do. Enjoy some wine or take in some early spooks with this week’s events.

Win tickets to the Cheesecake Burlesque Revue’s All Hallows Peep Show on THURSDAY. Just email calendar@mondaymag.com (SUBJECT:CHEESECAKE BURLESQUE) to win!

We’ve got extra prizes to give away this week, so check back regularly for updates.

Candlelight Conservation Dinner – Some of Victoria’s favourite dining establishments will be dimming the lights to raise awareness about energy conservation. THURSDAY. bchydro.com/candlelight_conservation_dinner_2010.html.

Festival Of Fear – Lots of spooky activities for Halloween, including the Festival of Fear, the Cornfield of Horror, the Crazy Train, Madame Isabella’s Seance and Carnevil, in addition to the Corn Maze, Pumpkinfest and Petting Farm. THURSDAY-October 31. $10/$7. 250-477-5713, galeyfarms.net.

Zombie Walk – A zombie walk is an organized public gathering of people who dress up in zombie costumes. Most often taking place in a city center point, the participants lurch their way around the city streets and through shopping malls in a somewhat orderly fashion and often limping their way towards a particular hot spot for fresh human flesh. SATURDAY 2pm at Centennial Square. Free. malcontentmedia.ca/victoriazombiewalk.
Tanzania gala – Enjoy an African buffet and entertainment. Proceeds support business development in Tanzania. SATURDAY 5:30pm at Oaklands Community Hall (2827 Belmont). $50. 250-294-3414.

Crush: A Fine Wine Affair – Jurgen Gothe and Kathy McAree, are co-hosts of Victoria’s newest annual wine event. Celebrate the season of wine with tastings, food pairings and an international Fine Wine Auction. Sips will be offered by some of BC’s best wineries, including Peller Estates, Quail’s Gate, Joie Farm, Thornhaven Estates, Arrowleaf Cellars, Orofino, Hester Creek Estate, The View, Averill Creek and Sea Cider too. Wine tastings will be paired with savouries created by the Inn’s award-winning Executive Chef, Brad Horen, and complemented by the cool jazz of the Noah Becker Trio. Proceeds support the Belfry theatre. SUNDAY 5pm-8pm at the Inn at Laurel Point (680 Montreal). $65. 250-385-6815.

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Win two tickets to see CR Avery Band at Hermann’s on October 22 by emailing calendar@mondaymag.com (SUBJECT: HERMANN’S). And don’t forget to enjoy this weeks events.

Festival Of Fear – Lots of spooky activities for Halloween, including the Festival of Fear, the Cornfield of Horror, the Crazy Train, Madame Isabella’s Seance and Carnevil, in addition to the Corn Maze, Pumpkinfest and Petting Farm. THURSDAY-October 31. $10/$7. 250-477-5713, galeyfarms.net.

Beautiful Fall Colour in Trees – Join a City arborist for a classroom session on the mechanisms of fall colour, then head out for a tour of interesting trees in the neighbourhood. Registration required. SATURDAY 10am-Noon. $35. 250-361-0732.

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If you haven’t read our interview with The Top 100 Canadian Singles author Bob Mersereau yet, pop on over here and see what he has to say about this list. But if you have and are ready to start perusing, here’s the whole 100. Mull it over and let us know what you think.Does kd lang deserved to be buried all the way down at #56? Does Bryan Adams really deserve three songs in this list? Should Neil Young’s songs even count as Canadian singles when most were released south of the border? Is it kinda embarrassing that Maestro Fresh Wes is, at #22, so far up the list? (According to his interview in the book, he thinks so. “I’m tired of having people look at me, reference me, what I’ve done, back in the day,” he told Mersereau. “I don’t need to stroke my ego . . . It’s two decades, man. It’s not funny no more.”)

Chime in and have your say. What would you put on this list, and why? What shouldn’t be on this list, and why not?